Sevenoaks......

Sevenoaks in bedford were helpful to me when i booked an audition of the Monitor audio B2's which i bought that day. Arranged the date and they requested what sort of system i wanted them hooked up to. I chose the entry level arcam CDP and A65+ amp as it was my first hi-fi system and i love the sound of my dads old amp, which was the first ever arcam amp back many years ago, the A60.

One guy sat with me and loved some of the music i played, especially frou frou and another imogen heap album and said he was going to buy them asap. I asked about the QED speaker cable and their own high quality crimped connectors (can't remember the name) and he said it wasn't really worth it.

Then listened with an entry level denon amp which was much worse than the arcam but when i informed him of my amp budget he pushed for me to get the denon as it was good and a 3 year warranty :rolleyes: I then politely told him that i was watching an arcam delta 290 on 'the bay' and it would be far superior to the denon. He accepted that then sorted me out with the MA speakers there and then.

Good stuff !
 
squiffy said:
Just be aware RS own CA (and several other brands) so they will try to push them over other brands, ie you go in to demo Arcam but they don't have any in stock, instead they plonk a CA amp down and say something like "this sounds identical to the Arcam and is half the price" or other sales talk.
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Quoted for truth!

The Sevenoaks in Newcastle is alright, but I shop at global hi-fi down the road.
the salesmen are pushy and i DO have to re-assure them of my budget.
I’ve found that once you show a genuine interest, or spend a little bit of money their attitude sharp changes.
you have got to remember there are hundreds of people walking into high end hi-fi shops every day who don’t have a clue ( i was like that ! ) its hard for the salesmen to take people seriously some times !

i used to work in a model shop and the amount of people who wanted us to get the most expensive RC cars out the box just to look at them and pretend they were interested was unreal... just by looking at them you knew they didn’t have the means or will to buy. they just wanted to look! ... but then there’s always the odd one that DID want to buy.
of course every customer has be treated the same and gioven the same respect... but sometimes it wears thin!

still though, I don’t agree with blatant slagging off of neighbouring shops, when my hi-fi dealer slags richers off... he backs up his arguments with facts at least :) lol

Next time you visit a shop, first of all ask '' could i arrange a time to go through one options with you and demo some of your products, i am looking for such and such and don’t want to spend more than so and so''

by asking for their time your already showing a genuine interest.

by next week he will have forgot your face, so try again :)
Rick
 
I've had good esxperiences with Sevenoaks. They've price matched against online retailers a few times and have always been friendly. A few times one of the guys working at my local branch has put down products that they don't stock (in this case all lcd projectors and some speakers I was after) which did annoy me a little, but on the whole they're a good company.
 
Never had anything but terrible service from any of the Sevenoaks stores I have been to. Its now come to a point where I dont even bother going in. Superfi were considerably better, but the dem room by me is acoustically appalling which pretty much negates the point of going in there.

Richer sounds, well, the less said about that bunch of cowboys the better. Nothing but lie after lie - only go in there if you have no other choice and/or dont know your arse from your elbow :p

My choice around here is Practical HiFi - spent many an hour in their dem room, always advice thats backed up by what you hear, fantastic knowledge of presentation styles and technical knowledge about circuit design and other little bits and bobs that always make it worthwhile going there. This is the type of shop that you should aim for - a shop run by and staffed by enthusiasts - not snobs or people that have to hit a sales target to stay in a job :)
 
DRZ said:
My choice around here is Practical HiFi - spent many an hour in their dem room, always advice thats backed up by what you hear, fantastic knowledge of presentation styles and technical knowledge about circuit design and other little bits and bobs that always make it worthwhile going there. This is the type of shop that you should aim for - a shop run by and staffed by enthusiasts - not snobs or people that have to hit a sales target to stay in a job :)
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I can also vouch for Practical HiFi, I bought my Blu-ray player and my Sony 462000X Lcd tv from them, I first spoke to them at the Manchester Home Entertainment Show where they were very helpful and did not mind taking the time to answer any questions I had.
 
Will said:
I have found Sevenoaks to vary quite a lot - the Wolverhampton store is great, friendly staff who'll show you their latest items or have a chat about new products and the industry in general, even if you're only in to buy an optical cable or the like. Have been chucked the remote and given a cup of tea a couple of times and just told 'have a listen and see what you think' for systems I can't even afford (Quad II 40s and ESL989s, and the Arcam Solo, and a couple of megabucks AV systems). On the other hand I've found other branches to be similarly snooty about budget components.
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Wheres the Sevenoaks round here? Could come in useful when im back after the summer
 
Thing that annoyed me about Richer Sounds is their "Beat Web Prices" policy, what it really means is they'll beat the internet price so long as 3 year warranty is included.

So say Richer Sounds of TV X with 3yr warranty for £1250, and an internet competitor offer the same deal for £1249 (BUT the price of the TV without the extended warranty was £1000 on the internet site and £1200 in Richer Sounds). They would offer you the TV + warranty for £1199.

Basically if you want to beat the internet price you're forced into buying the extended warranty. Whereas in my opinion if they're going to advertise "Beat Web Prices" they should be beating the price of the TV alone.

I know high street stores have more overheads etc. but the hook of the advertising campaign is misleading imo
 
Ive had good asnd bad service from 7oaks (when I lived in Southampton) but havent been back to any since

I only like Richaer Sounds for basic equipment - would never spend too much in there as they always seem too busy to help ( even if its emptying the garbage lol)
 
Never been in Sevenoaks but i've met a few Hi-Fi salesmen who have been highly opinionated snobs. Just take your money and go elsewhere.
 
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